II. How to Make a FOIA Request

The FOIA/Privacy Act Office is centralized. FOIA requests are considered received by the SEC only when they reach the FOIA/PA Office (See 17 CFR 200.80 (d) (9) (ii). Written requests should be submitted to the FOIA/PA Officer by:

The SEC has two tracking systems (Fast-Track and First-In, First-Out (FIFO)), more commonly known as Simple and Complex requests. The Simple and Complex response times differ significantly. We are committed to processing our requests as expeditiously as possible. As such, in spite of the twenty-day statutory time limit, we responded to 1,395 Simple (Fast Track) requests within ten business days. This number represents more than half of the Simple requests processed this year. Requests in our Complex (FIFO) system required our review of an average of 42 boxes of records per month and resolution of about 21 requests for confidential treatment per month.

C.

Many requests received by the SEC are for investigatory records, consumer complaints, and nonpublic correspondence. Some of these requests were denied because the records related to on-going investigations (Exemption 7 (A)), personal privacy (Exemptions 6 and 7 (C)), and intra and inter-agency records (Exemption 5). In addition, we affirmatively responded to 60 requests for information in an electronic format (diskette and magnetic cartridge). The total programming and production cost charged to the requesters ranged from $0.75 to $250.00.

In compliance with the Electronic FOIA Amendments, we continued to post and update information to the agency's FOIA website for fiscal year 2001.

III. Definition of Terms and Acronyms

A.

Agency

Securities and Exchange Commission  SEC

B.

Basic Terms

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request  a request for access to records concerning a third party, an organization or a particular topic of interest.

Privacy Act (PA) request  a request for records concerning oneself; such requests are usually processed under both the PA and the FOIA.

The Government in the Sunshine Act (GITSA)  a request for access to transcripts of SEC open meetings.

Confidential Treatment Request (CTR)  a request by or on behalf of the submitter of a record and/or information that the SEC withhold the material under one or more of the FOIA exemptions.

Initial Request  a written plea to the SEC for access to records under the FOIA, PA or GITSA.

Appeal  a request to the SEC asking that the Office of General Counsel review a decision of the FOIA/PA Officer to fully or partially deny access to records under the FOIA or any other FOIA determination, such as a denial of a fee waiver or reduction.

Processed Request or Appeal  a request or appeal for which the SEC has taken a final action on the request or appeal in all respects.

Multi-track processing  a system in which requests requiring relatively minimal review are placed in one processing track and more voluminous requests are placed in other tracks.

Expedited Processing  the SEC will process a FOIA request on an expedited basis when a requester has shown an exceptional need or urgency for the records which warrants prioritizing his or her request over other requests that were submitted earlier.

Simple Request (Fast-Track)  a FOIA request for less than three boxes of material when an agency uses a multi-track system for processing requests.

Complex Request (First-in, First-out (FIFO))  a FOIA request for three or more boxes of material when an agency uses a multi-track system for processing requests.

Grant  a decision to disclose all records in full in response to a FOIA request.

Partial Grant  a decision to disclose a record in part in response to a FOIA request because all the information in the requested records is determined by the SEC to be exempt under one or more of the FOIA's exemptions; or a decision to disclose some records in their entireties but to withhold others in whole or in part.

Denial  a decision to withhold any part of a record or records in response to a FOIA request because all the information in the requested records is determined by the SEC to be exempt under one or more of the FOIA exemptions.

Time Limits  the time period in the FOIA for an agency to respond to a FOIA request (ordinarily twenty working days from receipt of an initial FOIA request).

VIII. Comparison with Previous Years (optional)

IX. Cost/FOIA Staffing

Number of personnel with part-time
or occasional FOIA duties
(in total work years):

41

3.

Total number of personnel
(full and part time/occasional) :

59

B.

Total cost

1.

Incremental costs incurred in administering the FOIA:

$2,443,098.00

2.

Litigation-related activities:

$10,556.00

3.

Total costs:

$2,453,654.00

X. Fees

The total amount of fees collected by the SEC for processing requests for fiscal year 2001 is $31,156.00. This figure represents search and review costs only. The SEC uses a private company under contract with the agency to duplicate records that exceed twenty pages. The contractor charged the requesters or the SEC (when free copies were provided) 24 cents per page for copies. The rate schedule, attached as Exhibit A, is formulated annually on a direct cost basis as set out in Office of Management and Budget Guidelines.